Looking for a place to start regarding Tsuba

[Chriso]

I have a request that someone may be able to assist with:

 

I'm interested in Tsuba but do not have a clue where to start in learning about them, I mean there are plenty of books written about Tsuba but i have yet to find a single book, or series of books in English suitable for the novice who wishes to start out by understanding how to analyse a particular piece. I get a bit frustrated when I read the responses from knowledgable people who are able to rattle off the period, details and even in some cases the maker of an item. I understand that it can take a lifetime to scratch the Nihonto surface, but surely there must be a starting point and a progression in learning.

 

The old additive of reading as much as possible, unfortunately for me just compounds the problem.

 

HELP

 

Chris O

[Bugyotsuji]

Yup, couldn't have put it better myself.

 

Even though I have a bunch of tsuba in my 'collection' and several illustrated books in Japanese I feel really frustrated by my own ignorance. When I buy a new one and post it on this site I often get few or even no comments, regardless of whether it was an expensive one or a cheap one to buy, so tsuba must surely be a slow learning progress for me. (Don't even mention Nihonto ) Luckily there is no hurry...

[Gabriel L]

It does seem somewhat less accessible than nihonto study, doesn't it?

 

You may ask for this to be moved to the Tosogu forum. Also check out recommended reading and information found at:

http://www.nihontokanjipages.com/reading.html

http://www.nihontokanjipages.com/tosogu.com/

http://www.nihontokanjipages.com/forum/

http://home.earthlink.net/~steinrl/nihonto.htm (great tsuba information)

http://home.earthlink.net/~jggilbert/tsuba.htm (great tsuba starting point)

 

Commercial books:

http://www.satcho.com/Tosogu.htm

 

Finally, join a sword club or something... you need exposure and guidance to really advance in this kind of stuff.

 

Good luck!

-GLL

[Chriso]

G'day Piers, nice to hear from you.

 

Gabriel, Thanks for the links, some of them I am aware of and the others I will gradually work through. I agree with your comment regarding getting exposure to the good stuff, unfortunately i believe it is in short supply here in AU as are sword clubs, having said that there are a couple of serious collectors who have offered assistance from time to time and who i will take up on their offer.

 

I initially raised the subject in this forum thinking that it would be quite short, but I would be happy to have it shifted if the powers to be think it may be a viable option. Perhape others may wish to leave additional links.

 

Regards and many thanks :D

 

Chris

[Bugyotsuji]

Well, Chris, let's work around the old adage. How's about getting a starter Tsuba book in Japanese and use it for a) the piccies, b) starting to fit the English pronunciations with the Japanese characters, (for design features, schools and lists of Tsuba-shi) and c) helping to supplement your study of Japanese from a different angle?

[Mike]

I think a good start will a book published by NCJSC called "Tsuba an Aesthetic Study" a good start for the novice collector. Maybe you can see on their web site if and how you can purchase this book.

Mike

[rkg]

Chris,

 

I second getting ahold of a copy of Tsuba an Aesthetic study as a starting point. Its not terribly expensive,

and has some reasonable descriptions/is a pretty good overview.

 

If you've gotten some offers from advanced collectors to look at some pieces, I'd HIGHLY recommend taking them up

on that sooner than later - its really very hard to understand a lot of tsuba w/o actually seeing some

decent physical examples to give meaning to the text/flat pictures. (comments about lack of close-ups deleted).

 

Good Luck,

 

rkg

(Richard George)

[Chriso]

Mike and Richard, many thanks for your guidance. I picked up a very good reference book a while back but of course it was in Japanese and while it has very detailed pictures, to me that is all they are, no explanation.

 

I do intend to take your advice on the book. I guess that there is so much available, be it in other languages that it is difficult for a novice to know where to start with out guidance from those more knowledgeable who have been there and done that.

 

I've also started trawling the net for information on specific schools, makers and types of tsuba which i intend to compile into a reference which may help.

 

Only being into the subject for a few months now, I'm finding it facinating and very addictive. I will be retiring from the Army within the next year or so and I think I have finally found a subject that will take up a good amount of my spare time

 

Thanks for your help and best wishes

 

Chris

[Pete Klein]

I would recommend starting here:

http://home.earthlink.net/~jggilbert/tsuba.htm

Jim's bibliography is very good and is listed more or less in order of relevance/importance. It was written some time ago so be aware that there are new books not on the list.

Definitely buy the Sasano 'Masterpieces from the Sasano Collection' book as it has very good information and very good pictures. Torigoye's 'Tsuba Kanshoki' second edition has English explanations/subtitles. It's a tome and has arguably the best cross section of schools represented although the information is considered a bit dated as is some of the information in 'Tsuba - An Aesthetic Study' by the same author. Visit the sales links listed on the NMB links section. Look carefully at the examples for sale, especially the expensive ones. It will help you to see the differences between junk and good quality. Don't get put off with the prices -- you need reference so your knowledge will grow. Go to shows, make friends, watch the boards, and remember the best place to start is with reference materials instead of wasting money on low end pieces/junk.

Good luck!

 

note: Books, especially older ones, tend to have information which might be a bit out of date (sometimes just plain wrong) so it's important to read with the understanding that you will be called upon to revise your thoughts in the future as newer information comes to light. IOW don't take anything as Dogma -- keep an open mind and please have fun in the process!

 

Sasano book is also available here:

http://www.bushidojapaneseswords.com/booksupplies.HTM

[Chriso]

Thanks Pete,

I took advice and ordered a copy of the 'Masterpieces from the Sasano Collection' which was quite a big call with the state of the AU$ at the moment, I will also order 'Tsuba an Aesthetic study' so between them both and the on-line trawling that I am doing, I hope to have a slightly better appreciation in the near future.

Once I have spent a bit of time had a good look at the books I'll drop a line with my view of these as starter references for a novice.

 

Regards and thanks to all

 

If anyone else has an Idea on suitable websites or books please feel free to leave a link

 

Cheers

 

Chris